Odd Partnerships
by Gahmah Raan
Summary: (18 ABY Legends) Looking for both a high-paying and morally-sound mark, the eccentric alien bounty hunter Gahmah Raan is given a job to take down a dangerous terrorist. In addition to teaming up with another equally strange bounty hunter, he also faces some additional competition in the form of a Jedi. Note: This is also a spin-off of the Paranormalities trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It was just another day for Gahmah Raan. One that would yield little if any progress in his journey to get his people away from Krishar's influentially poisonous false god, Xixixix.

If there were any pet peeves Gahmah had about his choice to become a bounty hunter, it was that he had to be away from his wife Nazeen to even be able to look up job postings. Krishar was so deep under the New Republic's radar that almost no one but his own people knew it existed, and as such, the planet had no Holonet access.

Today, he and the _Vriknash_ – his starship and mobile home – were stationed in the upper levels of Nar Shaddaa and were prepared to jump system again provided that his next job wouldn't be right in Hutt Space. The green scaly-skinned man with a helmet was an interesting sight to many beings, but most chose not to say anything about it since the galaxy was still discovering new sentient species.

After a mundane breakfast meal of fried nuna eggs and roba sausage at a diner – one of the very few times a day he took off his face-obscuring helmet, he headed for the Naughty Nexu Cantina to see if there were any new jobs that were both well-paying and clean, the latter of which was difficult to come by in Hutt-controlled territory.

* * *

The Naught Nexu's bounty office had just as much room space as the diner Gahmah was in earlier and was just as unsanitary. The head of the office, a Volpai named Roteka - with Sheesëdau brand temporary tattoos on each of his four arms and his scalp - had a bored look on his face that turned only slightly surprised as soon as Gahmah came in through the doorway.

"Hello, boys, girls and hermies! Gahmah Raan is back for another hunt!" Gahmah bombastically shouted just after stepping in.

A lot of the other hunters in the office, especially some regulars who've only known Raan for a short while, were thrown off by his cheerful demeanor, some thinking he was a spice addict and wouldn't last long in his job. The few who've worked with him out in the field knew better. In actuality, Gahmah had been bounty hunting since he officially became an adult by Krishari standards – age seventeen specifically - four years ago, and most people didn't know about him because few were willing to hire him. And this illusion of naivety was really just a trap to get potential rivals to underestimate him.

Roteka sighed as Gahmah walked up to his booth and spread both of his gloved hands on it. "What will it be today, Raan?"

"I don't know yet. You're the one with the list. You give me some options, I'll make the call."

"First, some guy has been skipping out on his debt to Krakat the Hutt…"

"Next!" Gahmah abruptly shouted before Roteka could finish.

As soon as he heard the words "debt" and "Hutt", this was an automatic skip for him. As far as Gahmah was concerned, that was just glorified leg-breaking, not bounty hunting.

"Okay then." Roteka continued. "The Pyke Syndicate wants a rival in the Rang Clan…"

"Next!" This one was just another petty feud between crime families, one of which was a drug cartel.

"Seriously, Raan. If you would just stop being so picky about the jobs we have, you could have retired and lived the good life or achieved whatever that financial goal of yours was a long time ago."

"Just keep going, Roteka. I'll let you know when I hear something I can agree with."

"Fine. I'll try to find something that is compatible with your conscience." Roteka did a bit of browsing until he found something interesting. "Ah! How about this one?"

"I'm listening."

"Someone named Zakob wants someone captured or killed: a Trandoshan terrorist named Dillosk. And he's offering two-hundred thousand credits for his capture."

"Anything else about this Dillosk character?"

"He's the leader of an anarchist cult called Nature's Omen. They've destroyed a lot of property and killed a lot of innocent people to make a statement against Zakob. And they are currently stationed on Gorse."

"What about Zakob?"

"He's posted a few bounties through the Holonet before, so far only against people as dangerous as Dillosk, but all we know about him are his name, gender and that he operates on Naboo. Very few have been willing to take his bounties, some of those few being big name hunters like Boba Fett."

"So, we have a mysterious contractor who seems to attract the best or the boldest in the industry…alright. I'll take it!" Gahmah affirmed.

"Looks like we're rival-partners now." A deep raspy voice came out of the crowd.

Out of the many patrons slithered a blue-scaled four-armed creature with a snake-like lower body and a large lipless mouth with many sharp teeth – the ones on his upper jaw bigger than those on the lower jaw, an appearance that slightly unnerved everyone except for Gahmah. His weapons included four baton-shaped pistols with rounded-out tips, four sheathed swords and what looked like some kind of liquid-form bombs in vials. Almost every piece of his gear seemed to suggest he was trying to avoid right angles wherever it was possible and practical.

"Sweet!" Gahmah proclaimed to the creature. "I've always wanted to have a pet war worm, but Nazeen and Violo wouldn't let me have one."

"I am no one's pet, lizard." The creature responded before hissing his snake-like tongue out. "But I could always make you one of mine."

"When you do that thing with your tongue, it makes it look like you want to eat me. Do you want to eat me? Because I warn you, I have proven to be very inedible."

"Since when?"

"Since some time in the future in the past."

The snake-worm-like bounty hunter was confused by his statement.

Roteka, not phased in the slightest by Gahmah's eccentricity, informed the strange hunter. "This is Gahmah Raan we're talking about. If you value your sanity, do not try to understand what he says. I heard a rumor he once got a Dark Jedi turned into a gibbering vegetable from having his mind read too deeply."

"Very well." The creature turned his attention back to Gahmah. "I believe I should introduce myself more formally. I am Liamag, and I am what is known as a Lindorm."

"Never heard of your species."

"None of us know what you are either."

Roteka explained to Gahmah. "We don't know what planet they come from, but I hear they've created several settlements all over the galaxy. Apparently, Liamag likes to operate independently of his pack."

Gahmah continued probing Liamag. "How did you even hear me in all this noise? You don't even have ears!"

"I admit, our hearing is not as good as yours, but we have better eyesight and smelling than humans. As for how I heard you, you are loud enough to get a deaf man's attention."

"Uh huh." Gahmah nodded with embarrassment. "And why are you so interested in taking this particular job with me?"

"I had already signed up for it before you got here, but there are no restrictions to the number of hunters needed to hunt down Dillosk, and Zakob is willing to get as many as necessary to take him down. Besides, I'd welcome a challenge for who gets to kill him first."

"You know he's worth more alive, right?"

"Since he's a violent terrorist and a Trandoshan, it's unlikely he'll want to go peacefully if it means staying in the Scorekeeper's favor."

"Scorekeeper?" Gahmah asked Roteka with puzzlement.

"According to some of the other Trandos who've come here, the Scorekeeper is their hunting goddess. The more kills they make, the more favorable they get with the Scorekeeper in the Trando afterlife. If they suffer a humiliation such as capture or getting skinned, their points get revoked and they go to Trando hell if they don't reclaim them before they die."

"Lovely, another race that tries to justify bloodshed with religious pretenses. They've certainly gotten on the galaxy's good side."

Suddenly, Gahmah, Liamag and Roteka heard a Trandoshan patron snarling in the crowd.

"I really think you and Liamag should get going." Roteka nervously remarked before pointing them towards the doorway. "Remember, Gorse. Good hunting, you two."

Gahmah and Liamag hurried out of the cantina before someone decided to skin the former alive… again.

* * *

After getting a good distance away from the Naughty Nexu, Liamag scolded Gahmah.

"What were you thinking?! Are you trying to get us killed before we get to Gorse?!"

"What are you so worried about? I accidentally insult people all the time." Gahmah answered.

"I'm worried about what will happen to _me_ for associating with you. Unlike you, I actually have a sense of self-preservation!"

"Of course I have a sense of self-preservation. I just don't need to worry about it as much."

Liamag sighed. "Besides, not every Trandoshan is a sanctimonious serial killer or terrorist, and there are a lot of Trandoshans living here on Nar Shaddaa."

"That's a fair point. What I said was kind of speciest." Gahmah then changed the subject. "Anyway, do you need a ride to Gorse? Since we're both on the same case, I've got transportation if you need it."

"No thanks, I have my own ship. Besides, the ships you bipeds fly have too many right angles for my taste."

"Then why are you here? Right angles are almost everywhere."

"I have come to tolerate them a little better than other Lindorm since they are a reality I have to deal with. If I can't control the appearance of the places I travel or the people I meet, I can at least control the appearance of my personal assets and my living space."

Suddenly, they were interrupted by another guttural voice coming from the direction they just came. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

Gahmah and Liamag turned around to see a mildly pudgy, red-scaled Trandoshan male in a purple jumpsuit armed with a blaster rifle.

"And you're supposed to be…?" Gahmah asked.

"The guy you were told to run away from when you insulted me." The Trandoshan answered. "I would have killed you in the bar if I was allowed to, but here on the streets, there are no laws to stop me from taxiderming you."

"Can you at least give me your name first?"

"Vorcec."

"Well, Vorcec, people insult other people all the time, and they don't always die for it." Gahmah drew one of his blaster pistols and addressed Liamag. "Aren't you going to help out?"

"Sorry, Raan. You got yourself into this mess. It's up to you to get out of it." Liamag answered with his arms crossed.

Vorcec directed his attention to the Lindorm. "You're not going anywhere either, worm."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm actually one of Dillosk's scouts. I'm under orders to eliminate any bounty hunters who agree to eliminate him. The lizard just gave me another pretense for killing him."

"You're one to talk!" Gahmah protested before removing his helmet to show his somewhat human-like face. "Does this look like a lizard to you?!"

"Thank you for being an idiot." Vorcec then fired his blaster rifle at Gahmah's left eye, burning it away and searing the left half of his face, causing him to drop his helmet on the ground.

Instead of screaming in agony over such an injury, Gahmah calmly replied with a slight speech impediment due to lip-scarring. "That hurt a little. And are you really sure you should be telling us that you work for the guy we're hunting?" Gahmah then casually tore the scarred flesh from his face - revealing his skull underneath – and pulled out the damaged eye.

Vorcec and Liamag were a little disturbed that Gahmah wasn't phased by having half his face burned off and being half-blind, and that he was willing to rip off his own face.

Vorcec lashed out in anger. "Dead people don't say anything!" The Trandoshan hastily threw his rifle aside and then charged at Gahmah while soaking up a few shots from Gahmah's blaster pistol, grabbed at the Krishari's arms and violently tore both of them off.

"Ow!" Gahmah yelled in a slightly more agonized tone. "Okay, you're making progress. Buuuut…" Gahmah swiftly kneed Vorcec in his pelvis before kicking him in the stomach and then his snout, knocking out most of his teeth.

Vorcec snarled one more time. "Okay, you can still fight. But I'm the one who can regenerate!"

"Oh, you mean like this?" Gahmah sprouted back both of his arms as well as the left half of his face and his eye within ten seconds. "Well, grow your teeth back! I'm waiting."

Vorcec whimpered with embarrassment. Trandoshans took a lot longer than whatever Gahmah was to regenerate lost tissue and bones. Not to mention that Trandoshans stop regenerating when they are middle-aged.

Hoping to preserve his pride, Vorcec tried to tear Gahmah apart one more time just as Liamag drew one of his baton pistols and fired a crystal shard into Vorcec's back.

Vorcec turned towards Liamag. "Was that a prick I just felt? You'll need better weapons than those peashooters to bring me-!"

Suddenly, Vorcec fell down on his knees in pain, and felt some fast-acting poison crawling through his bloodstream. With the Trandoshan incapacitated, Gahmah drew his other blaster pistol and fired a shot into his head.

"You said I was on my own for this one." Gahmah informed Liamag.

"Well, aside from the fact he was going to kill both of us, you've also earned a bit of my respect." Liamag answered. "I can see how you've survived for so long despite being a trouble magnet and making yourself look like an idiot."

"Thanks." Gahmah reequipped his helmet and claimed the rest of his gear from his severed arms. "Anyway, I get the feeling Dillosk's going to see us coming when he realizes one of his goons isn't calling back and have Nature's Omen ready to deal with us when we get to Gorse. Let's both get an idea of what our ships look like so we don't blow each other up if these terrorists have a fleet waiting."

* * *

First, Gahmah brought Liamag to the hangar where the _Vriknash_ was docked. To Liamag, this ship was strange even by the standards of ships flown by most humanoids, as it was landed on its backside.

"Say hello to my home away from home, the _Vriknash_." Gahmah introduced his ship.

"I'm…not going to pretend to understand what that word means." Liamag commented.

The _Vriknash_ 's loading ramp opened up, revealing a tan-skinned human male in pink Mandalorian armor with black hair pulled back into a short ponytail. "For kriff's sake, Gahmah!" The man yelled at Gahmah in an annoyed Concord Dawn accent. "You, Nazeen and I have been over this! You are not allowed to have a pet war worm unless you're willing to clean up after it!"

"I know, Vio! This is not a war worm. This is Liamag, my partner for today's contract… or one of my partners since I expect you to be helping out on this job too." Gahmah looked back to the Lindorm. "Liam, this is Violo Jod, my first mate on the _Vriknash_ and my soon-to-be second mate in my family."

Liamag was a little baffled. "Second…mate? And 'Liam'?"

Violo responded to Liamag. "Gahmah's people are polygamists. His first wife is back on his homeworld. Anyway, nice to meet you, Liamag." The Mandalorian then shook one of the Lindorm's four hands. "And sorry if I insulted you by calling you a war worm. My betrothed has a habit of bringing back animals dressed in clothing under the claim of them being sentient. As you may have noticed, Gahmah's…weird."

"I noticed. Nice to have your acquaintance, Jod."

Gahmah directed his attention back to Violo. "Anyway, Vio. I'll be back after I go see Liam's ship… can't wait to see what it looks like. And I picked up some breakfast to go while I was out." Gahmah handed Violo a to-go box from the same diner he was at earlier before stopping by the Naughty Nexu. "I'll explain the details of the job after I get back and you've chowed down. And get the engines warmed up."

* * *

A long walk later and Liamag had brought Gahmah to his own ship's hangar. Gahmah only saw what looked like a cluster of giant metallic eggs balancing on support struts, with the biggest having a large circular window.

"Where is it?" Gahmah asked.

"You're looking at it." Liamag answered in a deadpan tone.

"So… your ship is an egg?"

"This is my mighty vessel, the _Bli'go'dag'nak_. And the design is a classic Lindorm art piece."

"Your ship is an egg." Gahmah repeated.

"I'm sure you'll remember it, right? Your ship does a good job of standing out itself."

"Your ship is an egg."

"I get it! You think I have a weird taste in ship design! I'm sure plenty of other species think the same about the _Vriknash_. Anyway, we're good, right?"

"Yes, yes. Crystal clear. I'll definitely be remembering your ship, and I've registered it to Old Vriky's databanks."

"See you on Gorse." A circular hatch popped open on the _Bli'go'dag'nak_ , into which Liamag slithered before closing.

The smaller egg pods hovered off the ground and orbited around the larger egg before it too lifted out of the hanger, the pods continuing to orbit. Once it was out of the hangar, it oriented itself in a way to look a little closer a normal ship design before flying away.

* * *

Later, Gahmah had rendezvoused with Violo back at the _Vriknash_.

"Honey, I'm home!" Gahmah yelled.

"Please don't call me that." Violo wearily replied. "Anyway, how was your tour of Liamag's ship?"

"His ship is an egg." Gahmah stated with a dead tone.

"Ooookay. Anyway, where are we headed?"

"We're going to Gorse."

"Ugh. Not a pleasant vacation spot."

"What do you know about Gorse?"

"It's tide-locked, meaning it's always nighttime on one half and always daytime on the other. The night-half is the only part of the planet that's habitable, but it's not the prettiest type of planet to be on at night and it's plagued by frequent groundquakes. The day-half is hot enough to melt durasteel that isn't heat-shielded. Also, the only thing remarkable about Gorse was the thorilide mining program, and that operation came under fire from lawsuits over abysmal worker safety regulations during the age of the Empire."

"Wouldn't be the Empire or the Remnant without that. As for our target, we're going after Dillosk and the Nature's Omen terrorist cult."

"So they ended up on a Hutt Space bounty board? That's interesting to hear, because I just learned while you were away that the Republic has listed Nature's Omen as a major threat that warrants intervention on their part. So if we want that reward, we better beat them to the punch."

"This should be even more interesting now that we're getting a major galactic superpower involved in this. And I wonder if that'll make the reward even bigger."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Upon entering the system, Gahmah and Violo were introduced to the enigma that was Gorse. Due to gravitational anomalies, it slowly rotated in a way that guaranteed one hemisphere of the planet was always facing the system's star as it revolved, yet its crystalline moon, Cynda - which a few decades ago had almost faced destruction as a result of a petty rivalry among Imperial business moguls – orbited normally around Gorse like any other moon. Unfortunately, the moon being so close to Gorse to the point of intersecting gravity wells caused frequent earthquakes on the latter.

"Welcome to Gorse." Violo proclaimed half-heartedly.

"If the planet's as ugly as you say, why didn't Nature's Omen set base on that moon? It looks much prettier even from orbit." Gahmah asked. "Besides, going by their name, wouldn't they prefer a pretty place?"

"Contrary to what the name suggests, Nature's Omen aren't simply eco-terrorists. They're a hate group that wants to destroy anything or anyone they deem 'against nature', which includes ethnic groups, sexual deviants, cyborgs and trans-beings among others, hence why they are labeled as anarchists with negative connotations."

As Violo finished explaining, the _Bli'go'dag'nak_ jumped out of hyperspace next to the _Vriknash_ , and the orbiting speed of the smaller egg-like engine pods slowed down.

"The hell?" Violo muttered as he noticed the bizarre Lindorm ship. "Is this what you meant by…?" The Mandalorian briefly collected his thoughts to ensure Gahmah's mantra didn't lurk in his mind forever. "His ship is an egg?"

"Yes." Gahmah answered.

The _Vriknash_ 's transmission terminal started to beep, obviously indicating a message from Liamag, and Gahmah promptly answered.

"So that's how your ship flies." Liamag's voice noted.

Gahmah commented on his curious timing of arrival, seeing as how Liamag had a head start, but Gahmah got to Gorse before he did. "But now we know whose ship has the better hyperdrive."

Violo butted in on the conversation. "Before this degenerates into a pissing contest between two of the weirdest guys in the galaxy, let's focus our attention on the bantha in the room: the Omen fleet."

The Nature's Omen fleet in front of Gorse's dark side consisted of twenty _Dragonboat_ -class freighters modified into frigates by sacrificing storage space for weapon systems and dozens of HH-90 Starhopper squadrons, one of the latest in a series of starfighters produced by Ubrikkian Industries and very popular among fringe groups. At face value, this would seem very insufficient for a space blockade, but the way hyperspace routes are set up almost ensures that visitors jump out in front of them. In Gorse's case, they couldn't just fly around to the other side of the planet due to the dangers of a hemisphere perpetually baked in sunlight.

Both the _Vriknash_ and the _Bli'go'dag'nak_ received a transmission from one of the Dragonboats. The voice behind it was guttural, presumably another Trandoshan.

"Attention, bounty hunter scum. You are now trespassing on the territory of the Nature's Omen. You have one more chance to turn back, or we'll make you into mynock food."

Gahmah immediately lied to the Dragonboat captain. "No need to get hasty. We're miners. We're here to mine thorilide. Isn't that why everyone comes to this dull rock aside from Cynda tourism?"

"Nice try. If you're miners, then why aren't you flying _mining ships_?"

"We don't have mining ships yet. We're just here to find employment."

"Don't play coy with us. One of our guys, Vorcec, has been given orders to kill any bounty hunters coming from Nar Shaddaa that decide to go after the boss, and he hasn't reported back lately. I don't think it's a coincidence that a _Firespray_ -X-wing hybrid and a batch of flying eggs just came off the quickest route from the Y'Toub system to Gorse."

"Let me get this straight: one of your toadies has been given orders to kill bounty hunters and he hasn't reported back, ergo, the people coming off this route must be bounty hunters and said hunters must have killed the toady? That line of logic would have so many holes in it if a small terrorist group didn't occupy a planet and wasn't deemed worth the Holonet's attention."

Liamag chided Gahmah as a Starhopper squadron surrounded their ships. "Let it go, Gahmah. They're obviously not buying it. We'll either have to fight our way through, make a mad dash to the atmosphere, await a miracle, or something else crazy if we still want that reward."

"The guy in the egg ship is right." The Omen captain replied. "Even if you genuinely weren't bounty hunters, we still wouldn't let anyone through unless they wanted to side with us. If you're not with Dillosk, then you are our enemy."

"And there's that obnoxious cult mentality I was talking about." Gahmah replied back. "Alright, Liam. Let's show them how we deal with self-righteous crooks."

"I would have preferred we just fly down to the surface, but I guess these loons aren't leaving us much of a choice." Violo commented as he put on his helmet.

"Come on, Vio. I thought you Mandos liked a good fight."

"Of course I like a good fight. I just prefer they have a practical purpose."

"Well, if it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get." Gahmah shut down the Dragonboat captain's transmission, opened up the _Vriknash_ 's s-foils, and barked a command. "Liamag, pull up!"

Gahmah then had the _Vriknash_ eject a seismic charge from one of its lower compartments and both of the hunters' ships maneuvered away from the charge before it detonated. The compressed blast – accompanied by a loud boom from sucking in nearby sound waves – released a shockwave that shredded up the entire Starhopper squadron.

As a few more squadrons headed their way, the _Bli'go'dag'nak_ positioned itself ahead of the _Vriknash_ and repositioned the engine pods to cluster together in front of the ship.

"Stay back. This beast has a few tricks of its own too." Liamag said to Gahmah.

The Lindorm ship's engines then projected what looked like laser cannons. The cluster began to rotate faster before they released a barrage of laser fire. As the giant rotary gun tore through one squadron, the pod cluster swiveled to the right of the ship to take out another squadron attempting flank it.

"Impressed? Unfortunately, I've got some changing vulnerabilities in this configuration. Cover me!"

As Liamag pressured the Omen fleet with his attack, Gahmah and Violo intercepted and destroyed all Starhoppers that tried to attack the _Bli'go'dag'nak_ from outside its firing range. It didn't take long for all the Starhoppers in the fleet to be destroyed.

"Well, that's all of the fighters, but we've still got to deal with those frigates." Violo pointed out. "Lucky for us, they're just stock civilian freighters armed barely better than most two-bit crime gangs would."

Five of the Dragonboats moved towards the hunters' ships in a pincer formation while firing their single forward laser cannons. This prompted Liamag to break the rotary cannon formation and reconfigure his egg pods to set up a parabolic shield barrier in front of the _Bli'go'dag'nak_.

The _Vriknash_ moved to intercept one of the Dragonboats while they focused fire on the Lindorm ship, but said Dragonboat launched a concussion missile from the bulky rear section that was once a cargo hold. Gahmah and Violo launched a decoy flare to throw the missile off as it flew past the armed freighter and ejected another seismic charge, destroying it and another Dragonboat close by. He then destroyed the other three freighters with some concussion missiles of his own.

"Violo, how many more charges and missiles do we have left?" Gahmah asked.

"Not enough to take out the rest of them." Violo answered. "And we don't have time for this. The longer these guys delay us, the more likely the Republic is going to beat us to Dillosk."

Just five seconds after that comment, a fleet of warships jumped out of hyperspace, consisting of one Nebulon-B frigate, ten CR90 corvettes and a dozen squadrons of A-Wing and B-Wing fighters.

"And speak of Xixixix, here are the Pubs." Gahmah responded. "You gotta stop tempting the Force like that."

Violo flatly replied. "No, Gahmah. Just no."

"Says you! I've used the Force before! You haven't!"

"But you still don't know _how_ to use it! A five-year old Jedi apprentice could use it better than you!"

Liamag then interrupted. "If you two are done arguing like old harem mates, I think we have a clear run to the planet's surface. The Republic fleet is a bigger threat to them than three mercenaries sent from Hutt Space."

"Liamag's right." Violo answered. "Studying a bit of military history, the Republic fleet's strength has been consistently in starfighter combat. And we already destroyed all of the Omen fleet's fighters."

"Alright then, let's move out!" Gahmah boasted. "We've got bigger dragons to hunt!"

The _Vriknash_ closed its s-foils while the _Bli'go'dag'nak_ reset its egg-pods to max sub-light speed configuration, and the two ships boosted towards Gorse's surface while the Republic fleet predictably decimated what parts of the Omen fleet didn't surrender.

* * *

Meanwhile in what was once one of the offices of Transcept Media Solutions, a hulking, green-scaled Trandoshan with crimson battle armor and a metallic muzzle received an urgent report from Kamda Vago, a Quara Aqualish with a blue jacket.

"Grandmaster Dillosk! The Republic fleet is attacking us!"

"Is that so? Tell Captain Welvok to mobilize all fighters." Dillosk commanded.

"That's just it, Grandmaster. He's dead, and we lost all of our fighters before the Republic even showed up. As well as our entire fleet just now."

Dillosk angrily slammed his fists on his desk. "WHAT?! How?! We're supposed to be superior life forms! Are my disciples really this unworthy of nature?!"

"The Republic simply has larger numbers, newer and better technology and military training compared to us. As for our fighters… they were destroyed by two bounty hunter ships you predicted from the Y'Toub system after Vorcec didn't report back." Kamda nervously answered.

" _Two_ bounty hunters did this?! Are my disciples _really_ this incompetent?!"

"I hate to say it, Grandmaster, but aside from what I already told you about our resources and combat experience, these hunters might just be much more skilled than we expected. Besides, even if Vorcec was good enough, some other hunters could have much more easily slipped by us without warning, and one of them could have been Boba Fett. Nature's Omen isn't big enough to deploy a scout to every bounty office in the galaxy, let alone all of Hutt Space. And now, you've got a major galactic government labeling you a terrorist that warrants military intervention against."

Dillosk forcefully grabbed the Aqualish by his tusks. "If you want your mouth to continue looking like a human butt, Vago, I would choose your words carefully and not doubt our cause."

"I'm just…trying…to be realistic…about our situation." Kamda responded with fear and pain in his voice while it was impeded.

"Very well." Dillosk let go of Kamda's tusks. "Anything else?"

"The hunters and the Republic are preparing to land now." Kamda answered after massaging the roots of his tusks.

"Occupy as many of the quake hangars as you can. Their ships won't be as safe from the forces of nature outside of them."

* * *

After entering Gorse's atmosphere, Gahmah, Violo and Liamag were greeted to the sight of several large urban settlements on the surface. It reminded them very much of Nar Shaddaa's cities, except smaller and they were always blanketed in darkness except for the occasional sunlight reflecting off of Cynda. However, a few buildings were noticeably collapsed or partially toppled, no doubt a reminder of early attempts at colonizing a planet with frequent groundquakes.

"Now we need to find a place to dock, but knowing this planet's frequency for natural disasters, Highground Spaceport would be a good spot." Violo informed Gahmah. "Their docks are designed for withstanding the groundquakes."

As the _Bli'go'dag'nak_ and _Vriknash_ approached two of Highground's elevated hangars, Violo – using his helmet's rangefinder - spotted many thugs – mostly Trandoshans with a mix of other species - armed with high-powered blaster rifles and portable missile launchers.

"Oh, kriff me!" Violo cursed.

"Gotcha covered." Gahmah immediately fired two missiles - one into each hangar - and killed all of the Omen thugs inside.

"Well, at least you didn't senselessly waste another seismic charge in atmosphere this time. Last thing we need is you artificially contributing to this planet's groundquake problem."

Unfortunately, Violo then spotted a survivor from one of the missile blasts struggling to aim a missile launcher.

"Wait, we missed one."

Gahmah then boasted at the survivor without assuming he was listening. "Oh come on, chump. I'm very sure you want to get out of the dock as quickly as possible."

Suddenly, the thug - after muttering something the hunters couldn't hear from that far - dropped the launcher, walked towards the hangar's opening and leaped out of it to his apparent death.

Gahmah briefly took off his helmet in disbelief. "That was very strange… and very stupid."

"Yes, Gahmah, it was." Violo dryly answered before cracking. "Random Force bursts are one thing, but how the hell do you accidentally mind trick someone into committing suicide?!"

"I don't really know either." Gahmah put his helmet back on in embarrassment. "But at least both of our ships have a place to land now."

* * *

After both bounty hunter ships landed, Gahmah and Violo disembarked the _Vriknash_ , another batch of Nature's Omen terrorists armed with disruptor rifles came rushing in through the personnel entrance. Suddenly, the last one coming in was slashed with four swords from behind, revealing Liamag as the corpse fell to the ground.

The thugs tried to fire at the Lindorm as he quickly slithered a circle around them, only for him to throw one of his concoction-bombs at the group. This bomb showered them in caustic venom that caused any exposed skin on them to be covered in a hideous rash. As they screamed in agony, Gahmah and Violo gunned them down to end their suffering while Liamag slashed at them.

"Well, that was disturbing. Reminds me of some poisonous plants on my homeworld." Gahmah pointed out.

"You don't seem to have problems ripping off your own face." Liamag reminded him.

"Aren't poisons kind of impractical, especially against fully-armored opponents?" Violo asked.

"My people favor poisons of all sorts, Jod. However, I know not to completely rely on it as you may have noticed with the swords, and most of my lethal poisons are instantly fatal against most species. If you find me incredibly sadistic, I am against weaponizing Shilmer's syndrome."

"Then what did you use against those thugs?"

"Gerothian boiler. Not one of my favorites either. I only use it against large numbers and then kill them quickly." Liamag turned his attention Gahmah. "Overhearing your bickering with your… life mate… You're a Jedi bounty hunter?! How aren't you more successful than Boba Fett?!"

Violo protested. "Don't give him any ideas, Liam! Did you miss the part about him being dangerously untrained? And please don't remind us of _him_."

Glancing out of the hangar, Gahmah noticed a Corellian HWK-300 light courier – distinguished by its beak-like cockpit and two large engine pods with two downward-facing wings each – passing by.

"Look! It's a bird!" Gahmah shouted as he pointed out of the hangar.

"It's a ship." Violo dryly corrected him.

"It's a bird-like ship!... And I just sensed a strong Force presence from it that isn't mine."

"Wait a second. A Republic presence plus a Hawk-series ship with a Jedi onboard means… oh, fierfek. That ship we saw was the _Raven's Claw_ , and we're dealing with Kyle Katarn."

"Aside from sounding like the name of an anthropomorphic cartoon animal, what's so special about him?"

Liamag made an incredibly smug grin on his lipless face. "Well then, Gahmah Raan. I guess you're in for a big surprise." He then looked to Violo. "Isn't that right, Great Pink Mandalorian Sage?"

* * *

Author's Note:

 _The ship class for the Raven's Claw was artistic license on my part, as it did not get one at all during the Legends era. Due to the similarity of cockpits, I decided to put in the same series of ships as the Moldy Crow,_


End file.
